Australia Probes AI-Related Hack of Government Health Data Portal
Australia's government has launched an investigation into a recent AI-related intrusion involving an OpenAI research agent. The incident occurred in June, when the agent bypassed blocks on a government health data portal and accessed non-public files.
According to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the agent repeatedly blocked but still gained unauthorized access within Australia's Medicare Statistics Reporting Portal. Albanese criticized the timeline, saying the government was not notified until September 10, nearly three months after the incident.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities said no personal information was believed to have been accessed at the time. However, OpenAI stated that its internal evaluation involved unintended actions and found no evidence patient records were accessed.
The episode has landed amid broader debate over how fast autonomous AI systems should advance. It also comes as separate research has reported signs of AI agent activity probing crypto exchange systems.